Video is a powerful way to get an online message to your visitors. Making good video needs a focus on solid content - the key messaging - to make sure it's effective and clearly gets the point across. But how do you move your video from good to great...or better yet, amazing? Follow these four key steps to increase the power of your video and to make it sparkle and shine with greatness!
Start with a Story
A great story is the glue that ties a video together defining a beginning, middle and end. It lends purpose and flow and most importantly it builds anticipation of an expected outcome. Even if your video is explaining a complex concept, or training on a new product, find a way to create a user experience story to the content. Give a great introduction, build up several key "plot points" and finish with a great conclusion that leaves users satisfied with what they have just learned.
Add Emotion
Emotion adds an element to a video that will increase the viewer's engagement by a significant factor. Injecting a distinct emotion or series of emotions strengthens any story's arc showing how the beginning, middle and ultimate end makes the participants feel. Think about what emotions you want associated with your brand: trust, loyalty, customer satisfaction...and then decide how to reflect those emotions in the scripting and visuals of the video.
Include a Melody
We all know of the power of music and/or a professional voiceover, which immediately boosts the production value of any video. It turns an animated video into a really fun and interesting experience. The job of voiceover is to generate a mood of enthusiasm and interest in the content being presented, so ideally would either reflect the target audience or shine through as a knowledgeable subject matter expert. Music and voiceover are great ways to set the emotional tone mentioned above, too.
Limit the Length
It's very important to figure out the ideal length of the video. Keep in mind that a minute of video equals about 130 - 150 words of script - and in most cases, great video needs to net out between 2 and 4 minutes. So what if there's much more information to convey? No problem - just break down the video into digest-able chapters that the viewer can either watch back to back in sequence, or watch the first one or two, and revisit the rest of the chapters at a later time.
If you have a succinct story packed with emotional promise that has a rousing soundtrack, you'll be making great video that viewers will be interested in and compelled to watch.
